Besançon - Cathedral of St Jean

In Besançon below the Citadel is the Cathedral of St-Jean (11th-13th C; choir 18th C), with a large nave between two choirs. It has a number of valuable paintings, including a "Virgin and Child with Saints" by Fra Bartolommeo (1518). In the belfry is an astronomical clock by A.-L. Vérité (1860), with thousands of moving parts which come into action at certain times of day. To the east of the cathedral is the 16th C Porte Rivotte, with two round towers; the passages for pedestrians were inserted in the 19th C. To the west is the Porte Noire, a triumphal arch of the second century A.D. with rich sculptural decoration.